The attached pic is of an Accel brand rotor which was purchased and installed 6 months ago along with a new distributor cap. This was the first time (except when I replaced the distributor) that I used a non-AC Delco part and paid the price. The rotor failed on the highway and I had to have the Blazer towed home... Am posting it here just in case you were considering one of these parts for your Blazer...

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...t-dscf0888-jpg

 

wow ... thats and accel pert. i figured they were reliable.. question.... how how you consider MSD ignition parts... imma stick with AC Delco but i wonder if they are really worth the expense.

 

I've seen MSD parts but have never used them. My understanding is that their stuff is more for performance modding, but I'd take a look at any improvement to the Blazer's ignition system.

In my experience, these vehicles are tough on caps, wires, coil, etc. and would welcome some heavier-duty options. If you find anything interesting, let us know.

-peace-

 

Actually, based on my 50 years of experience and observation, it's the opposite. Advances in technology makes fails like this more rare, not less. Burnt up rotor contacts used to be pretty common even on lower power systems
That probably wont happen on EVERY Accel rotor. Bet it started as a mechanical scratch or nick at the point of the break. That spring flexes with every revolution

It's like Kyle says.. the main difference is in production standards and quality control.

That's why AC D / Delphi specified in many areas.. they were privy to the engineering design. And/or did the design in the first place.
Like the fuel injection system. Causes major headaches for us NOW.. but for the purposes intended worked considerably better cost/performance/ economy than the standard Bosch fuel rail systems. Let's face it.. for a mfr the first 100 kmiles is what counts.
UPDATE: See below. I think Franco's bro-in-law nailed it. Bad spring steel. I HAVE seen that on cheap rotors before. Like they used banding strap.

 

I agree that ignition systems in general are more reliable than they used to be (I worked as a mechanic back when cars had points... ;-) but my experience with Blazers and other GM V6 vehicles is that they seem to chew through caps & rotors faster than other makes of cars I have owned or worked on... and I haven't yet found anything that improves on the OEM parts.

I'm sure you're correct about production standards and QC. My brother-in-law, who is a mechanical engineer, part time marine mechanic and works in manufacturing, suspected that the spring steel used was improperly annealed or otherwise out of spec. Definitely a QC issue...

Anyway, it's AC Delco for me from now on.